Anyone blackout on Maverick?

So, I am making my first trip of the season to the park on Thursday (caused by of course work) :(. My boyfriend has rode Millennium plenty of times in the past, however this past year we chose to ride in the backseat a lot of the time and every time he has "grayed out" (sp?). His vision was all black/white/gray and he said his vision was like looking through a tunnel (tunnel vision). His arms were up the whole time but his hands were shaking rapidly (this was on the first drop only)... I know other people have experienced this as well.

So, my question is since Maverick is not as high as Millennium, has anyone had problems like this yet on Maverick? Do you expect anyone will have these problems with Maverick since the drop is so steep? Or do you feel it was more of the height issue that was causing the "blackouts" on Millennium?
*** Edited 6/6/2007 2:53:23 AM UTC by wickedsister***

I also occasionally get slight tunnel vision on MF (even after 125+ rides)... But I haven't had that at all on Maverick.

My wife always grays out on MF, and when we go Thursday, she says she's not going on it with me. I don't think she'll have a problem on Maverick, though, since I don't think the g-forces are as high. We'll see.

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I told him I didn;t think Maverick would affect him like that since it doesn't seem to be that intense (as far as the drop goes). But he was convinced that he was graying out because of how steep the drop was.

I've also had problems on Millennium, but have had no problems with Maverick.

Gray-outs happen because of strong and sustained g-forces, not inclination. During the drop you are in freefall, with a net gravity of zero, so your heart has no problem getting blood to the brain. You could be dropping at any angle and not gray out during the drop. During the pull-out at the bottom, however, is when you feel many times your own body weight, and blood has a harder time reaching the brain. Since Maverick is only 105 feet tall, I doubt it can reach a fast enough speed at the bottom of the first drop to really induce graying out. The critical part is how gradually the coaster changes direction in relation to its speed, not the angle of the drop itself.

I occasionally get a black out which is basically my eyes are open but it's pitch black for a few seconds. I had a small maybe 2 second blackout on Maverick in between the canyons when it was chanigng directions. My biggest blackout to date right now was on Mantis in the back row this year. It lasted from the first drop to the inclined loop
*** Edited 6/6/2007 4:07:20 AM UTC by JackLovesTTD***

I grey out on Millenniums overbank.....everytime.:)

So far, I havnt on Maverick.

Oh well, go figure.

The g's on Maverick last much less than on Millennium Force. This is exactly why you are less likely to black out or grey out on Maverick.

The way to avoid this is to tense muscles in your legs, abdomen, chest, arms, ect. This increases the blood pressure to your brain to normal levels. To get a greater blackout, you must relax if possible.

I grey out on Millennium's first overbank every single time I ride it. There are occasional times on other coasters that it may happen but not nearly as frequently as on MF.

Today I got my 3rd and 4th rides on Maverick, both of which were on the front seat. I didn't grey out at all in any of my 4 rides, but today I got the absolute best rides of my life. After today, Maverick is now my favorite ride.

^ Based on what Jump said, people who have ridden MF many times are more likely to black/grey out on it. I suppose that makes sense. For me things get fuzzy as I bottom out on the first hill, and they are clear again as I am about halfway through the first overbank...

The grey-outs on MF seem to be rather sporadic for me, though when they do happen, they last from the first pullout through about halfway through the first tunnel. I'm not really worried about Maverick, as MF is the only coaster that I have ever experienced a grey-out on.

This process isn't cumulative. As soon as the g's let up, the blood flows back to your head like normal and it goes away. The overbanked turn and the hill out to the island do exactly that. On Maverick this happens sooner so the effect cannot advance as far.

I suppose another factor is the ability to relax after the first rides. I don't remember greying out on MF until after riding around 10-20 times. The more relaxed your muscles are, the better the blood can pool thereby increasing this effect. Using "hypnosis" relaxation techniques I was able to black out completely on MF. Also by tensing up muscles which is used by pilots to prevent blackout during flight, I've been able to rectify this completely. Try it out.

I didn't have any grey out issues on Maverick (although I have before on MF, and almost always grey out on Mantis's first drop - not sure why).

Summary:

Sustained POSITIVE g-forces - forces aligned with the axis running from your head towards your feet -can lead to gray-out/black-out. An instantaneous spike on something like a roller coaster should not cause any major adverse effects, but over a few seconds (e.g. MF's gradual pull-ups and turns) it becomes more likely. Particularly susceptible are those with chronically low blood pressure. As Jump to Conclusions states, tensing muscles (and/or being hyped up because you're at Cedar Point) can go a long way toward keeping blood in your brain.

Not addressed here is the opposing concept of negative Gs (forces running from your feet to your head) causing red-out. The human body does not tolerate that nearly as well. Hence the lack of sustained negative G on amusement rides.

Personally, I love sustained positive Gs. Even practicing simple steep turns (about 1.4G in a 45 degree bank) in a single-engine airplane is a blast.

Looking forward to trying Maverick in a few days during Coaster Mania... yee-haw!

I can not ride Raptor at Cedar Point for this reason. I almost passed out once going thru the first loop. So no more stand-up coasters for me. Especially if your on blood pressure medicine.

^ - Raptor is a sit-down inverted coaster. The only standing you do is in line.

I went on Monday with my family my cousin blacked out on it.

On Millenium force i dont blackout, but at the bottom of the first hill all i see is red spots. the spots go away after the overbank turn. this has only happened just recently.

I grey out on MF all the time. The only way I don't is if I concentrate, and by that point I've missed that part of the ride ;) Raptor's helix gets me every time, though.